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Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal has confirmed the rumours about her marriage to fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap and shared a few details about the couple’s courtship.

Saina Nehwal with Parupalli Kashyap. (Instagram/Saina Nehwal)

Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal has confirmed the rumours about her marriage to fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap and shared a few details about the couple’s courtship.

Nehwal and Kashyap have been rumoured to be dating for the past decade or so yet this is the first time either of the two have acknowledged the relationship publicly.

"We started travelling for bigger tours from 2007-08 onwards. We played tournaments together, trained together and slowly, started paying more attention to each other's matches,” Saina told the Times of India.

“In the competitive world that we live in, it is difficult to get close to someone. But somehow we both found it very easy to talk to each other, talk about our matches. The feeling gradually grew.”

She was quick to add that the thought of marriage never crossed their minds because of the demanding grind of the badminton pro circuit, stating that they only now feel ready to settle down.

"We didn't think about marriage before. The career that we pursue is very demanding. It is very important to win tournaments and we didn't want to shift our focus by getting married earlier.

“A player needs treatment and attention just like a baby. At home, I get everything without asking, but this will change once I get married. I will be equally responsible of doing things on my own.

“I didn't want to rush things before the CWG and Asian Games. But now, we think we are ready for it and can manage things on our own.”

Saina also revealed that she didn’t need to tell her parents about her relationship because they had figured it out for themselves.

"Bolne ki zaroorat nahi padi (I didn't have to tell them). We used to be together most of the time and my parents also travelled with me, so they understood who I was close to and comfortable with even after my losses.”

As for the reason for picking December 16 for the wedding date, Saina said that was the only date the two of them would have any time for themselves!

"I will get busy with the Premier Badminton League from December 20 and then qualifiers for the Tokyo Games will begin. So this was the only date that we had to get married.”